Cosmetic advice aids cancer sufferers with side-effects

Teaching cosmetic and skin-care techniques to cope with the side-effects of cancer treatment, Look Good Feel Better has expanded into Busselton.

Cancer-sufferers now have the opportunity to participate in workshops that help manage appearance-related changes during their treatment and recovery.

Local volunteer Adele Peters said the program’s regional expansion had been positive so far, with the first Busselton workshop run at Busselton Hospice in November last year.

Since then, the small group of volunteers has aimed to run a workshop every three months.

Ms Peters said women experiencing a variety of conditions and treatments had benefited from the program.

“The common theme among the ladies is that everything is out of their control,” she said.

“The diagnosis, the treatment, the effects — there’s nothing they can do about any of it, but this program aims to give them back some sense of that lost control and identity.”

The workshops provide practical tips for patrons to regain self-image with simple tools like make-up and head coverings.

Look Good Feel Better national co-ordinator Carol Kavurma said the program operated out of 180 locations Australia-wide and half of all workshops were run in regional areas.

“We are always looking at the data available to us to see where the patients are so we can ensure our workshops are there for them,” she said.

The next local workshop is scheduled for Thursday, November 16 at Busselton Hospice.